


Acetone

by meathermac



Series: Dani's Femslash Week Works [2]
Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, It's kinda sad, also, and thats it, and there's a reason the squip is there, but like... not really - Freeform, expensive headphones is there if you squint, hehehehheeh i should really warn yall that brooke isn't really a character, i think "his and michael's couch: is mentioned, not-brooke is, she's special, so sorry if you came here for that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-03
Updated: 2017-09-03
Packaged: 2018-12-23 04:17:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11981964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meathermac/pseuds/meathermac
Summary: She wants to go back in time and change something. Offer to ride with Michael and Christine instead. Have Brooke leave the party a little bit later. Do something.Acetone is nail polish remover. There’s a stain of it on Chloe’s carpet, from the last time she and Brooke did their nails. Works wonders on polish, but the stain never came out and now Chloe can’t stop thinking about it. It’s one of the last things she ever did with her Brookie before the crash.





	Acetone

There was something to be said about that day, far too sunny and bright for Chloe’s taste. Not enough sadness in the air. Jenna insisted it was better. Less movie-esque. 

It didn’t really matter. The fact that there were birds singing wasn’t gonna change the fact that Brooke was dead. 

Chloe barely remembered that it was… that day. Her mind was desperately trying to pretend like everything was okay. That Brooke was still by her side. 

Michael and Christine weren’t there, but Rich confirmed they hadn’t moved from his and Michael’s couch since the accident. Survivors’ guilt, something or other. As much as Chloe says she doesn’t blame them, that there was no way they could have predicted it, her subconscious kept telling her it was their fault. That maybe if Christine and Brooke had switched seats, or if the car had hit on Michael’s side, she’d still have Brooke. 

She wasn’t sure if she wanted to put that upon Rich, though. Lord knows how much the poor guy had had to deal with. So she stayed silent as her dad recounted all the great things Brooke had done, all the people that would miss her. They had tried to get Chloe to speak, saying that her girlfriend should get to say something, but Chloe just shook her head numbly. 

“Chloe?” Jenna nudged her shoulder. “We can go home if you want.”   


Chloe shook her head. She was determined to make it through the funeral. 

“Chloe, you don’t have to. It’s pretty obvious this hurts.” Jenna rested her hand on Chloe’s leg. 

“I - “   


“Hm?”

“Can we go home?” Chloe said in a small voice. 

“Of course.”   


Jenna and Chloe stood up, Jenna leading Chloe out of the place. 

“Chloe, I know this is really hard on you -”

“Jenna, I don’t wanna talk.” Chloe snapped. “Just… you know where my house is.” 

Jenna shut up. “Yeah. I’ll drive you home.”

Chloe sighed. “Thanks.” 

They rode home in silence, Chloe desperately trying to keep from crying.  _ Just until you get home,  _ she thought.  _ Only ten more minutes. _

Jenna pulled up at Chloe’s house. “Your parents home?”

“No, t-they’re not. They - aren’t usually.”   


“Do you want me to come in?”

“Y-yeah. If that’s alright, I m-mean.”

Jenna blinked a couple times, as if shocked. “Yeah. I can do that.”

They walked inside, the tears stinging at Chloe’s eyes.

“Chlo, do you want some food or something?”   


“Y-yeah. Can you check if there’s any ice cream?” She sniffled. “I’ll be up in my room.”

“Mhmm.” Jenna made her way over to the freezer. Chloe sprinted up the stairs, ran into her room, and slammed the door. She collapsed on her bed, sobs racking her body. 

“Why? Why her? What did I do? What did I ever do?” Chloe cried. “How do I make it stop?”

She glanced at the stupid acetone stain on her carpet. “And why didn't we ever try and get that out?” 

_ You couldn't! Tried for hours, we did. _

“What the hell… is that Brooke’s ghost?” 

A blonde girl shimmered into existence and smiled.  _ No. That would be stupid. More like a physical representation of your grief.  _

“Because that makes perfect sense.” 

Not-Brooke glared at her.  _ It's a side effect of the SQUIP, I believe.  _

“The what?” 

_ The SQUIP. The night of the play? I'm technically a SQUIP. But as soon as I complete my goal of  getting you over Brooke, I'll disappear. _

“I doubt I'll ever be over Brooke.” 

Not-Brooke grinned.  _ Not over her death… I exist solely to get you over her love. _

“That makes literally no sense.” 

_ Well, fuck you, Chloe.  _

“I'm not -” She thought for a second. “Am I allowed to turn you off?” 

_ Of course. Though I'd keep crying as Jenna gets here.  _ Not-Brooke winked and flickered out. 

Chloe rolled her eyes, and grabbed a box of tissues. She turned her mirror towards herself. “Stupid puffy eyes.” 

Brooke used to tease her about that. 

_ Puffy eyes, don't you cry, I'll dry your tears and help you smile, if I'm not mistaken.  _

“Didn't I turn you off?” 

_ Well, yes, but I can turn myself back on fairly easily.  _ Not-Brooke laughed, a slightly metallic sound.  _ Wanna see what else I can do?  _

“Wait - “ 

_ Tear ducts activate.  _

Chloe started to cry. 

Jenna knocked on the closed door. “Chlo? Do you want me to come in?” 

“Y-yeah!” Chloe called through the mostly-SQUIP-induced tears. 

Jenna opened the door and set the bowl of ice cream on Chloe’s vanity. She sat down next to Chloe. “Are you alright?” 

“I-I'm fine.” 

“Chloe, you have every right not to be fine.” She paused. “Is it okay if I hug you?” 

“Y-yeah, sure.” 

Jenna put her arms around Chloe, and Chloe buried her face in Jenna's shoulder and kept crying. 

“Shh, shh, it's okay.” 

“Jen, it's not okay, she's  _ dead,  _ she's fucking  _ dead _ , and - “ Chloe’s throat felt like it was closing up. 

“Chloe, Chloe, it's gonna be alright.” 

_ Keep crying. It's helping.  _

“You can go fuck yourself, not-Brooke.” Chloe thought. “My girlfriend's death is none of your business.” 

_ Chloe, there's a reason I took the form of Brooke. I am here to help you. If you keep crying, Jenna will be able to help you.  _

“Chloe?” Jenna let go of her. “Do you want me to leave?” 

“Don't leave!” Chloe blurted. “I mean, please stay.” 

_ Smooth.  _

“Shut up.” She thought. 

“I won't leave…” Jenna looked confused. “Are you alright?” 

“No, but… I will be. Someday.” 

“it's okay to cry all through today. You'll get back on your feet tomorrow.” 

Chloe sniffled. “Thanks, Jen.” 

“Alright. What was your favorite thing you ever did with Brooke?” 

_ Accessing memories.  _

“The hell?” Chloe thought. 

_ I can access your memories and give you memory of things you had forgotten about, like, say… eighth grade dance?  _

Chloe smiled a little bit. “One of my favorites… our eighth grade dance. I was supposed to go with Jake, but he didn't show up. Brooke, she found me crying in the bathroom and comforted me. We ended up ditching the dance and getting Pinkberry. Walked all the way there in our nice dresses and heels. It was one of the best nights of my life.” Chloe rubbed her eyes. “We stayed there until it closed. Brooke’s house was too far away, so she slept over at my house. Her parents were so mad, but… we didn't care.” 

“That's so sweet.” Jenna laughed. “Any more?” 

Not-Brooke made a face like she was thinking.  _ Sophomore year. Jake’s basketball game.  _

“Oh god… when Jake and I were dating, in sophomore year, he asked me to go to one of his basketball games. I was kind of scared to go alone, so I invited Brooke, and we talked through the whole game. I forgot what I was there for, honestly.” 

_ Senior year. The day you asked her out.  _

Chloe took a shaky breath. The memories were getting a little bit closer to home, but she was determined to tell them. “The day I asked her out… she and I had gotten into a fight about something  _ that seems so stupid now,  _ but at the time, she was really mad. I stormed over to her house and tried to talk it out, and it ended in a screaming match. Eventually, she broke down, and… well, the rest is history.” 

_ The night of the party.  _

“And how could I forget that last night? First kiss… the best memory.” 

Jenna laughed. “I can't believe… how close you two were.” Something about the way she trailed off led Chloe to believe that wasn't what she had planned to say. 

“Yeah.” 

“I'm so sorry.” 

“What did you do?”

Jenna laughed bitterly. “Well, it was my idea to have her ride with Christine and Michael, wasn’t it? Some suggestion about keeping the lovebirds apart.”

“Oh, Jen…” 

“Hey, I bet you’re telling yourself the same thing.”

“I am, but still…”

“Chloe.” Jenna forced a smile. “You did nothing wrong.”

“I guess not…”   


“Let’s just… enjoy each other’s company for now.”   


“Yeah.” 

They sat on Chloe’s bed for a while, Chloe crying off and on, and Jenna occasionally comforting her. Eventually, Jenna didn’t let go and she held her until both girls were almost asleep. It came very close to feeling like one of the many times she’d shared with Brooke, and… maybe she didn’t have to go through this alone. 

**Author's Note:**

> orginally this was supposed to end up chloe/jenna but i didn't like that ending


End file.
